IP address pools can be used to assign IP addresses from specific CIDR blocks to elastic IP addresses (EIPs). You can create an IP address pool and add CIDR blocks to the IP address pool. When you create an EIP, you can specify an IP address pool. The system assigns an IP address from a CIDR block in the IP address pool to the EIP. This topic describes how to create and manage an IP address pool.

Note You can use CIDR blocks that are provided by Alibaba Cloud or self-managed CIDR blocks. To use a self-managed CIDR block, you must first migrate the CIDR block to the cloud. For more information, see Bring your public IP address range to Alibaba Cloud.

Limits

  • The feature to specify an IP address pool for an EIP is available only for users who are included in the whitelist. To use the feature, submit a ticket.
  • You can add only IPv4 CIDR blocks to an IP address pool.
  • By default, you can create one IP address pool in each region. Each IP address pool can contain up to 256 IP addresses. If you want to use more IP address pools or want to add more IP addresses to an IP address pool, submit a ticket.
  • You can specify an IP address pool only when you create a pay-as-you-go EIP.
  • To specify an IP address pool when you create an EIP, make sure that the IP address pool and the EIP belong to the same region.
  • If your Alibaba Cloud account has overdue payments, you can only delete IP address pools.

Billing

  • After you add a CIDR block to an IP address pool, you are charged an instance fee for the IP addresses that are not assigned to EIPs within 1 hour. The instance unit price is 0.003 USD/hour/instance.
    Note You are not charged an instance fee for unassigned IP addresses before October 30, 2022.
  • You are charged for the IP addresses that are assigned to EIPs based on the billing rules of EIP. For more information, see Pay-as-you-go.

Create an IP address pool and add CIDR blocks

Before you use an IP address pool, you must create an IP address pool and add CIDR blocks to the IP address pool. You can add CIDR blocks when you create an IP address pool. You can also add CIDR blocks based on your business requirements after you create an IP address pool.

  1. Log on to the IP Address Pool console.
  2. On the IP Address Pool page, click Create IP Address Pool.
  3. On the Create IP Address Pool page, perform the following steps to create an IP address pool and add CIDR blocks:
    • Add CIDR blocks when you create an IP address pool
      Set the following parameters and click Submit.
      Parameter Description
      IP Address Pool Name Enter a name for the IP address pool.
      Description Enter a description for the IP address pool.
      Add CIDR Block Click Add CIDR Block and enter a CIDR block.

      Only IPv4 CIDR blocks are supported. The CIDR block cannot start with 0. The subnet mask of the CIDR block must be 23 to 32 bits in length.

    • Add CIDR blocks after you create an IP address pool
      1. Set the following parameters and click Submit.
        Parameter Description
        IP Address Pool Name Enter a name for the IP address pool.
        Description Enter a description for the IP address pool.
      2. On the IP Address Pool page, find the IP address pool for which you want to add a CIDR block, and click Add CIDR Block in the Actions column.
      3. On the CIDR Blocks tab, click Add CIDR Block.
      4. In the Add CIDR Block dialog box, enter a CIDR block and click OK.

Specify an IP address pool for an EIP

When you create a pay-as-you-go EIP, you can specify an IP address pool for the EIP. The system assigns an IP address from a CIDR block in the IP address pool to the EIP.

  1. Log on to the Elastic IP Address console .
  2. On the Elastic IP Addresses page, click Create EIP.
  3. On the Elastic IP page, set the following parameters, click Buy Now and complete the payment.

    This topic describes only the key parameters. For more information about the other parameters, see Apply for a new EIP.

    Parameter Description
    Billing Method

    Only pay-as-you-go EIPs support the IP address pool feature. In this example, Pay-As-You-Go is selected.

    IP Address pool Select an IP address pool based on your business requirements.
    • By default, Default is selected. The system assigns an IP address from the public IP address pool of Alibaba Cloud.
    • You can select another IP address pool from the drop-down list. The system assigns an IP address from the selected IP address pool.

More operations

Operation Description
Modify an IP address pool
  1. On the IP Address Pools page, find the IP address pool that you want to modify and click Modify in the Actions column.
  2. On the Modify IP Address Pool page, modify the name and description of the IP address pool, and click Submit.
Delete an IP address pool Before you delete an IP address pool, make sure that the IP addresses in the CIDR blocks that are added to the IP address pool are not assigned to EIPs.
  1. On the IP Address Pool page, find the IP address pool that you want to delete and click Delete in the Actions column.
  2. In the message that appears, click OK.
Delete a CIDR block from an IP address pool Before you delete a CIDR block, make sure that the IP addresses in the CIDR block are not assigned to EIPs.
  1. On the IP Address Pool page, find and click the ID of the IP address pool that you want to manage.
  2. On the details page of the IP address pool, find the CIDR block that you want to delete and click Delete in the Actions column.
  3. In the message that appears, click OK.

References